Feed-water heater for fire-engines



(NoModeL) E I P. SMITH.

FEED WATER HEATER EOE FIRE ENGINES.-

. No. 473,593. Patented Apr. 26, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT @EEICE.

PETER SMITH, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

FEED-WATER HEATER FOR FIRE-ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No; 473,593, dated April26, 1892.

Application filed November 7, 1891. Serial No. 411,178. No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PETER SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Detroit, in the county of IVayne and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Feed-Water Heaters forFire-Engines, of which the followingis a specification, reference beinghad therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in feed-waterheaters for fireengines, and has for its objects the heating of water tobe used in a fire-engine house and maintaining the hot water in theboiler of the engine. I

The invention consists in the peculiar construction of the heater andthe arrangement of the circuits therefrom and the valves controllingsaid circuits, whereby the engine may be supplied with hot water from atank in circuit with the heater and then the circuits to the engine andtank be circulated independently. Further, upon the withdrawal of theengine, the circuit to the engine is automatically cut off, and thatpart in the heater connected up with the tank, and, further, in thepeculiar construction, arrangement, and combination of the variousparts.

In the drawings, Figure l is an elevation of my heating apparatus. Fig.2 is a vertical section through the heater on line 00 a1. Figs.

' 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating the arrangement of the circuitsunder the different conditions in which it is designed to operate.

A is a stove or heater; B, the grate therein; 0, the feed-door, andD theexit-flue. I have two circuits extending from the stove, a main circuitto heat the water in a tank E, and, if desired, water in radiators forheating purposes, and a circuit for heating the water in the boiler F ofa fire-engine. The main circuit comprises a coil a within the stove. histhe exit-pipe extending from the upper part of said coil to the middleof the tank E, and c is the return-pipe from the lower part of that tankto the lower end of the coil a. The engine-circuit comprises a coil d onthe lower part of the stove, which at its upper end is divided into thetwo smaller coils e and f for the purpose of obtaining better heatingeffects of the water in those coils. These two coils connect at theirupper ends into a common It is evident that the parts being connectedup, as described, the water will circulate from the coil (4, to and fromthe tank E and from the coil d and its upper branched portion to andfrom the boiler F.

. In order to shut off the water from circulating through theengine-circuit when the engine is run on t, to throw the circulationfrom the coil d into the tank-circuit, I employ the I followingmechanism: G is a valvein the outlet-pipe g, being held normally open bymeans of the springs H, and I is a check-valve in the return-pipe 2',constructed to allow the passage of the water from the engine to the,stove but prevent the return of the water from the stove to the engine.

J is a weight connected by a chain to the valve-stein of the valve G andnormally suspended on the end of a rod K, which is supported in thestandard K at one end and at the other end upon the pin L on the engine.A cross-headM is provided at the end of this rod, so that when theengine runs out it will strike the pin L and carry the rod with it untilthe rod is withdrawn from the standard,slipping off the weight J, whichin falling closes the valve G and prevents the water from going out inthe pipe g, the check-valve I preventing the Water from passing out fromthe heater through the return-pipe t'.

M is a shut-off valve in the pipe N, which connects the outgoing pipe Z?of the tank-circuit with the outgoing pipe g of the enginecircuit, and Ois a valve in the pipe 0, which connects the return of the tank-circuitwith the return of the engine-circuit. These two valves are preferablyrocking valves, and are provided with cranks P, connected together bymeans of a connecting-rod P, to which a chain from the weight J isattached, all so arranged that when the weight falls, as previouslydescribed, it will rock the valves to their open position, allowing thewater in the coil (Z to pass upward through the exit-pipe g, theconnecting-pipe N, into the outgoing pipe I) of the tank-circuit, andreturning through thereturn-pipe c and connecting-pipe O to the bottomof the coil.

In Fig. 31 show the circuit when the engine is withdrawn, and in Fig. 4the circuit when the engine-circuit is open and both circuits are inoperation.

U is a supply-pipe for filling the tank.

R is a supply-pipe from the top of the tank E, and connected into thereturn-pipeibetween the check-valve I and the coil in the stove.

When the engine returns after being used, it is desirable to flow offthe water from the boiler, as it is ordinarily obtained from outsidesources and contains impurities, and when this is done, in refilling theboiler of the engine, after the engine has been connected up to theoutgoing and return pipes of the circuit, the valves M, O, and G, beingopen, the water will flow through the supply-pipe R into the lower partof the coil (1, and from thence through that coil and the outgoing pipes9 into the boiler until it is filled, it thus being necessary that thewater in passing from the tank shall pass through the heater beforeentering the boiler of the fire-engine.

Under ordinary circumstances after the engine has been out, the water inthe tank E will be very hot and the boiler of the engine be filled withboiling water, and then when the valves M and O are closed that waterwill be retained at its high heat by being circulated through theindependent circuit thus formed.

If while the engine is ou the water in the tank E be lowered by drawingit off, for instance, through the pipe S, shown as connected to abath-tub, or for other purposes, whereby the water in the tank iscooled, the fresh water passing into the boiler will necessarily passthrough the heater and be raised to a reasonably high temperature beforereaching the boiler. Thus I provide a means for supplying the boilerwith hot'water and for maintaining that water at a reasonably hightemperature under all circumstances.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a hot-water heater forfire-engines, the combination, with a heater, of two independent coilspassing through the heater, independent circulating systems connectedwith the coils, two coupling-sections between the respective coils, andvalves for directing the water independently through each coil andsystem or through both coils and one system only, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a hot-water-heating apparatus for fireengines, the combination,with the heater, of two independent coils located within the heater, acircuit from one coil to the engine, a detachable coupling in saidcircuit, a circuit from the other coil to a tank, connecting-pipesbetween the tWo circuits, and mechanism for closing the engine-circuitand connecting the coil of said circuit with the tank-circuit,substantially as described.

3. In a hot-water-heating apparatus for fireengines, the combination,with a heater, two independent coils therein, circuits from each coil,an engine-boiler in one circuit, a detachable coupling in said circuit,valved connections between the outgoing and return pipes of bothcircuits, means for closing the enginecircuit when the engine iswithdrawn, means for opening the valves in the connecting-pipes,controlled by the movement of the engine, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

e. In a hot-water-heating apparatus for fireengines, the combination,with the heater, the engine-circuit, the tank, and its circuit, of thepipe R, connecting the tank with the return of the enginecircuit, and acheck-valve in said circuit between the engine and said pipe,substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PETER SMITH.

VVitn esses:

M. B. ODOGHERTY, N. L. LINDOP.

